Leaders of Instruction, Leaders of Learning

No child, now or in the past, would deny that principals are the leaders of schools.

However, the job description has changed dramatically over the last two decades, say Jim and Becky Surber, clinical assistant professors and coordinators of NIU’s Principal Preparation program.

“Back in the day, principals were just managers of the building. If they were good at keeping a clean building, keeping the lunch lines moving, making sure behavior was under control and that students were safe and orderly, that’s how principals were evaluated,” Jim Surber said. “Now they have to be the instructional leader, making sure that the teachers are implementing current research and best practices that we know are going to have the best outcomes for students.”

“They have to make sure that students are learning and progressing. It’s not OK to just say, ‘I’ve provided the best instruction I can provide, but my students aren’t learning,’” he said. “The goal and responsibility of a principal is to understand that kids are all at different levels and that you have to make sure that they’re all moving in an upward trajectory.”

“We have such an emphasis on accountability,” Becky Surber said.

“A certain percentage of how principals are evaluated is dependent on student growth, which is built in by state law.”

Future principals pursuing M.S.Ed in educational administration degrees from the College of Education are well prepared as servant-leaders.

And the program is now more accessible, thanks to innovative NIU Principal Residency Program partnerships with Rockford Public Schools 205 and Elgin School District U-46.

Housed within Dean Laurie Elish-Piper’s PLEDGE (Partnering to Lead and Empower District- Grown Educators) initiative, the program reinforces the college’s commitment to Rockford, as well as Elgin.

“Principals are truly the core of their schools. They’re the ones who create the context and the climate. They’re the ones who create the support teachers need to support their students,” Elish-Piper said.

Launched in 2020 in Rockford, with a second cohort including students from both districts starting last fall, the program currently is developing 31 school leaders who will improve academic and social-emotional learning outcomes and post-secondary success in the buildings they serve.

Nominated and selected to enroll, with tuition paid by their districts, principal candidates are grounded in exceptional curriculum, professional practice and unparalleled mentoring, which includes coaching from the Illinois Principals Association.

Districts then thrive with a stable cohort of experienced administrators who understand the local culture and want to stay there.

“Rockford’s done an excellent job of selecting candidates, and that’s also the case in U-46,” Jim Surber said.

“These districts put their people into leadership positions with the belief that it’s going to make them stronger candidates. They’re going to have real-life, practical experience moving forward through these next two years.”

Meanwhile, Becky Surber added, “the diversity of our cohorts has always been a real strength.”

“Not only do we pull from different school districts, but our candidates are from different grade levels. We have some who are in positions at the elementary, middle and high school level, and some are in roles at the district level,” she said.

“We have classroom teachers. We have people who are deans. We have counselors, social workers, school psychologists and nurses. They all bring different perspectives that, I think, everyone benefits from and everyone learns from—including us.”

The roster is also racially and ethnically diverse and representative of the districts they serve; more than a third of the candidates are people of color. Some are bilingual, including native tongues of Spanish and Portuguese.

Jeron Shelton, a resident administrator at U-46’s Clinton Elementary School, has completed two semesters and is learning “a lot about becoming an instructional leader.”

Shelton already is playing a role in district-wide academic initiatives that include making Clinton a “School for Rigor and Equity” to raise student engagement and performance.

“I think that humility and a willingness to do any job is at the heart of servant-leadership, and much of what a principal does can be considered servant-leadership,” says Shelton, who is dually enrolled in NIU’s Ph.D. in Educational Psychology program.

“However, I am learning that in order to be effective as a school leader, I also have to empower and build the capacity of others. In this way, it’s less about ‘doing all the things’ and more about spotting talent and helping to develop leadership skills,” he adds. “Still, on a day-to-day basis, principals can be found working all over the building to ensure that staff and families have what they need to help students learn.”

In Rockford, new assistant principals Amber Lee-Black and Talvi Bandele have completed the program.

Lee-Black, who played basketball at the high school and college levels, taught physical education at Rockford Jefferson High School and two District 205 elementary schools until she felt another calling: the principalship.

“I just got to the point where I wanted to make a bigger impact,” Lee-Black said. “I was meeting a lot of kids, and I felt like I was making a good impact, but I said, ‘I want to reach more kids.’” She is grateful for the district’s confidence in her.

“I feel like I have something to prove. I was a teen mom. I made mistakes. I can still be successful despite those challenges,” she said.

“I’m looking forward to showing the students who are in the district that I’m from that. ‘Hey, I was you not too long ago. Whatever you decide you want to put your mind to, you’re capable because I was capable. You’re in the same environment. You have the same opportunities I had. You can be successful.’”

For Bandele, a former history teacher, school administration offers an intellectual challenge.

“Even as a teacher, I’ve always been the type of person who always wants to be learning, to always be evolving, to seeing what works best,” said Bandele, now a four-time NIU alumnus with bachelor’s (’98) and master’s (’00) degrees in history and a law degree earned in 2004.

“As a principal, I see it as a puzzle,” he added, “not in a sense that everything can be solved, per se, but that you have these things that come your way, and I think that I have the creative side to work with others to figure things out: ‘What can I do? How can I help?’”

Bandele, Lee-Black and their classmates already are glimpsing that “how.” Their three-semester internship provided hands-on experiences such as conducting teacher evaluations, reviewing budgets, observing school board meetings and interacting with parents.

Children are the main benefactors.

“Research tells us that school leadership is second only to classroom instruction as the primary reason for positive student outcomes and performance. The more effective these leaders are, in terms of being better trained, is going to have long-term positive outcomes for students,” Jim Surber said. “That’s our goal for this. We want to have better leaders for improving student performance because the ultimate outcome is that students get better.”